That's so true of this and the 85 1.2. I find both to be challenging beasts, even on my 5D MkIII, but when you nail a shot, it's so worth it. Also, I'm glad you mentioned the color and contrast - two items that always seem to get lost on "lens review" sites. The 50 has both in spades.

My only comment on the review itself is your bokeh comparison - why at f/7.1? I guess it's to show they are similar, but at f/2-4, they are very different...

A very expensive lens for photographers with artistic ambitions.I myself used Vaseline on the filter 30 years ago and together with Hasselblad.The 50/1, 2 impresses many people,size and price, but the lens un-sharpness , focus shifts etc has never impressed me.

On most sites, it tests less sharp than the 50mm 1.4 once they are both stopped down just a little, much less sharp at the edges. It is still said to have a lot of LoCA/PF. If the 50mm 1.4 simply had a working, true ring USM AF motor, I wonder how many would even look at the 50mm 1.2.

I don't know about that, but despite all the bashing about its sharpness, according to Lensrentals testing, the 50L is the sharpest lens from f/1.2 to f/2.0 including alll Canon, Zeiss, Nikon, and Sigma 50mm choices.

It is???

Quote

What I love about the 50L is how it retains such nice contrast and color below f/2.0, which is something my Canon 50 f/1.8 or 50 f/1.4 could not do, not to mention the superior bokeh of 50L .

Cannon Man

I have used the 50 1.2 for two years now and it is the only L lens that i have that seems outdated.My TS-E 24mm II, 85mm 1.2 II and 135mm 2.0 are noticeably sharper and more reliable.

Even then it is on my camera half the time because i love the focal length and aperture.All Leica 50mm lenses put the smackdown on the canon 50 1.2. That is why i am saving for the new Leica M with 50mm apo 50mm 2.0.

Please Canon update the 50mm to the level of your other better primes.

Sorry for the pedantic comment, but the bokeh of the 1.8 is pentagonal (five-sided), not hexagonal (six-sided).

I do agree with the assessment that if Canon made a 1.4 with the build quality and wide-open image quality of the new 24mm, 28mm, and 35mm IS primes, the sales of the 1.2L would be greatly affected. I like my 1.8 v. I, but I'm always on the lookout for a deal on a used or broken 1.4 because of the wider aperture, better (not excellent, though) build quality, and USM (though not Ring-USM). Personally, I wouldn't consider the 1.2 for myself because of price alone, but the advantages over the 1.4 (build, weather sealing and Ring-USM) are obvious. The image quality and focus accuracy are debatable.

I have used the 50 1.2 for two years now and it is the only L lens that i have that seems outdated.My TS-E 24mm II, 85mm 1.2 II and 135mm 2.0 are noticeably sharper and more reliable.

Even then it is on my camera half the time because i love the focal length and aperture.All Leica 50mm lenses put the smackdown on the canon 50 1.2. That is why i am saving for the new Leica M with 50mm apo 50mm 2.0.

Please Canon update the 50mm to the level of your other better primes.

+1 ... agreed.

At least part of the draw for some users is the snob value of the L lens, don't get excited if this is not the reason you like the f1.2.

But to quote an earlier poster the only ones who complain "are those who can't afford it" ...without meaning anything personal, what a pathetic, snobbish thing to say... So something expensive, by default, HAS to be of high quality? is this the way to define oneself as being "better"?... If not, why would someone even vocalize such a thought? What does it say about you?

50L is a controversial L lens and for such a basic standard focal length, there should be no contention...it should be hailed as being stellar... this L lens has at best mixed reviews. If it works for you, great, but don't discount significant number of users who have owned it and passed on it.

In spite of some who would pay 4 times more for the L's red ring and are appologizers for lens... Canon will quietly update it faster than the usual cycle... they know they cannot have half the potential market even having second thoughts.

« Last Edit: January 12, 2013, 05:01:11 PM by Ray2021 »

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“Sharpness is a bourgeois concept” - Henri Cartier-Bresson

Shermanstank

One of my favorite L primes. I still shoot film both 35mm and medium format. The color rendition of this lens is spectacular. I really have no issues with misfocused shots since I always try to manually focus after recomposing the shot.

One of my favorite L primes. I still shoot film both 35mm and medium format. The color rendition of this lens is spectacular. I really have no issues with misfocused shots since I always try to manually focus after recomposing the shot.

I love my 50L, my most favourite lens. When I had the 1.4 I'd never use it below f2.8, but with the 50L, shots you get with f1.2 are just magical and still retain a lot of contrast and colour, may take a few clicks of the shutter though. And not to mention the build quality feels amazing, the lens just feels "right" on my 5d mkiii, and weather sealed. I'm no professional photographer but all my lenses are weather sealed, I've been in situations where my gear has gotten quite wet and thankful for weather sealing.The sharpness or "lack of" doesn't bother me either, I'm not printing large prints or using 100% crops of photos, and even if I was I'd just stop down to 2.8. Just because its an f1.2 doesn't mean you have to use it at 1.2 all the time, at 2.8 it's still an excellently sharp lens. But 1.2 is where the magic is, and that's why people buy the magical and appropriately named "King of BOKEH".

canon rumors FORUM

I have an FD50 f1.2L which I replaced the FD mount with an chipped EF mount & use it a lot on my 1D4 bodies.It's a fabulous lens, very small, about the size of the EF50 f1.8. The FD 50L has a very long helicoid & so manual focusing is very precise.Incidently I've also retrofitted an EF mount on a FD85 f1.2L which is also a fabulous lens. It's much bigger & heavier than the FD50L.You can see photos of the conversion here (50L first then the 85L)http://goo.gl/GVLnWhttp://goo.gl/xsZzt